San Francisco WNBA Expansion Team Announces Franchise Name In Video With Kehlani

SAN FRANCISCO – The new WNBA expansion team based out of San Francisco, California announced Tuesday that the team will be called the Golden State Valkyries.

The announcement was made on ‘Good Morning America’, as  well as in a video posted to X, narrated by Oakland born singer, Kehlani. 

The Valkyries are owned by Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob and will begin play in the league’s 2025 season at the Chase Center. The addition of the Valkyries will be the league’s first expansion since the addition of the Atlanta Dream in 2008. 

After news of the expansion was officially announced in October of 2023, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert discussed the motivation behind the expansion in a press release.

“We are thrilled about expanding to the Bay Area and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionate basketball fans and a strong history of supporting women’s basketball,” Engelbert said. 

The name Valkyrie comes from Norse mythology where Valkyries were warrior women who guided the souls of the dead through battlefields to Valhalla, the hall of slain warriors. 

“Valkyries are a defiant symbol of the power of women,” the team wrote in a statement on its website. 

“Fighting for community and connection, Valkyries represent the Bay Area spirit of unmatched progress and innovation. A combination of strength and grace, the Golden State Valkyries are writing the next chapter in the epic tale of the WNBA, a league that has transcended limitations and norms over the last 27 years.”

Along with the explanation of the name, the Valkyries explained elements of their new logo including a depiction of the Bay bridge to illustrate the connection between their two homes: Oakland and San Francisco and 13 lines inside of the ‘V’ that represent being the 13th team in the WNBA. 

Following the addition of the Valkyries in 2025, the league is set to expand again in 2026 with the addition of Toronto’s WNBA team according to CBC Sports.